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Declaration of Independence by Thomas Jefferson
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"Ain't I A Woman?" - Sojourner Truth
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"What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?" - Frederick Douglass
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Abraham Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address
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Asa Philip Randolph
In 1925, he organized and led the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, the first predominantly African American labor union. He was successful in offering higher wages for workers, a shorter work month, and the right to a hearing before discharge. In 1963, he co-organized the March on Washington, giving a speech, describing the important advances that protesting had brought to civil rights and proclaiming the right of African Americans to be treated as individuals. -
The Supreme Court Declares Bus Segregation Unconstitutional
African Americans refused to ride Montgomery, Alabama's segregated buses for over a year. A Federal District Court said segregating buses was illegal and the Supreme Court agreed in a rule called Browder v. Gayle. There was no more legal delay for bus integration, and black people were now able to sit wherever they wanted in the buses. Their success in their protest led to the creation of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as its president. -
James L. Farmer, Jr.
In 1942, Farmer organized the Congress of Racial Equality in Chicago that followed principles of nonviolent protest to fight racial discrimination. In 1961, he initiated the Freedom Rides to desegregate bus travel, enduring the violence in response. Within months, Attorney General Robert Kennedy issued an order banning segregation in interstate travel. He and CORE had pioneered the tactics that eventually dismantled segregation in the South. -
Whitney M. Young Jr.
Young served as an organizer of the March on Washington and advised presidents like Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon. He shaped Johnson's War on Poverty and advocated for federal aid to cities, proposing a domestic "Marshall Plan." As Executive Director of the National Urban League, he transformed the organization into a leader in the civil rights movement. He used his position to address discrimination issues in social welfare organizations and get CSWE to adopt non-discrimination standards. -
The Supreme Court Orders Ole Miss to Integrate
In 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered the integration of public schools, ending the segregated "separate but equal" treatment for African Americans. However, many Southern states resisted this ruling. In Mississippi, African American applicants were denied admission to the University of Mississippi, or Ole Miss. James Howard Meredith whose application was also rejected, turned to the courts with the help of the NAACP's legal team. He eventually enrolled in the state-funded school. -
"Letter to my Nephew" - James Baldwin
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Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr. organized the March on Washington, where he delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech, advocating for the civil rights of Black Americans. His participation in the Selma-to-Montgomery march in 1965, drew national attention and sympathy. His "How Long, Not Long" speech emphasized the importance of justice. His actions caused the signing of Voting Rights Act into law, leaving his legacy as a crucial figure in the fight for racial equality. -
The March on Washington
A. Philip Randolph, an African American activist believed a march was necessary to accelerate social change in the United States. A quarter of a million black and white people gathered at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C., to support civil rights and the passage of a civil rights bill. The event featured performances by folk singers, and speeches by civil rights leaders. They represented a significant moral movement for jobs and freedom, not just a pressure group or organization. -
The Voting Rights Act of 1965
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 had a major flaw as it didn't address all the ways whites had denied voting rights to African Americans. To address this issue, Martin Luther King, Jr. led a march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, in March 1965. As a result of gained support for voting rights, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act into law. Johnson stated that the vote was a powerful tool for dismantling injustice and breaking down walls that separated people. -
John Lewis
As a co-founder and chairman of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, Lewis helped organize Civil Rights movement, such as the Freedom Rides, the March on Washington, and the Selma to Montgomery Marches. In 1987, he was elected to represent Georgia's 5th District in the House of Representatives, where he served as both a legislator but also as Congress’s de facto representative of the Civil Rights Movement - the "conscience of the Congress." -
"Testimony Before the Senate Hearings on the Equal Rights Amendment" - Gloria Steinem
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The National Black Political Convention
In Gary, Indiana, delegates described a state of economic, cultural, and spiritual depression in the US. The convention brought together a diverse group of participants who created a National Black Political Agenda which outlined goals such as electing a fair number of black representatives to Congress. It stressed the need to challenge existing limits and emphasized the importance of new vision, hope, and possibilities. -
"Address to the Commonwealth Club of California" - Cesar Chavez
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"Between the World and Me" - Ta-Nehisi Coates
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"A 'Forgotten History' Of How The U.S. Government Segregated America" - Terry Gross
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"Harvey Weinstein Is My Monster Too" - Salma Hayek
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"The Zoot Suit Riots and Wartime Los Angeles" - Stephanie Hinnershitz
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"Barbie" - America Ferrera
